Rajinder Singh Bains (46), of Wolverhampton, was appointed sole director of Midland Wines (UK) Ltd in June 2013. The company was a wholesaler of wine, food and tobacco, supplying retailers and members of the public.
However, only a year later, Rajinder Bains caused the company to trade in a manner which led to the tax authorities suffering excise duty losses. Over an 18-month period between July 2014 and January 2016, HMRC assessed that Midland Wines owed almost £260,000 in excise duty.
HMRC contacted Rajinder Bains about the excise duty rules and regulations, as well as the importance of verifying that excise duty had been paid on the goods he was handling, but he failed to take the correct action.
Rajinder Bains resigned as a director in early January 2016 before the company entered Creditors Voluntary Liquidation at the end of that month. The appointed liquidators filed a report with the Insolvency Service highlighting the conduct of Rajinder Bains while he was director and the fact that the company had failed to pay the correct amount of tax.
In August 2019, the Secretary of State accepted an 8-year disqualification undertaking from Rajinder Bains. Effective from 3 September 2019, he cannot, without the permission of the court, be involved in the formation, promotion or management of a company, directly or indirectly.
Sue Macleod, Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, said:
The length of the disqualification of Rajinder Singh Bains sends a clear message to the business community that failure to pay excise duty that is rightfully owed is serious misconduct and will not be tolerated.
Notes
Rajinder Singh Bains is of Wolverhampton and his date of birth is June 1973.
Midland Wines (UK) Ltd (Company no. 07679340)
Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of restrictions.
